Multiple strand carrier for braiding machines



MULTIPLE STRAND CARRIER FOR BRAIDING MACHINES iled Nov. 9 1954 F/G. 7 r- A min III I 2 Shee't l OP: TOHAHP/ April 22, 1958 J. LEIMBACH 2,831,390

MULTIPLE STRAND CARRIER FOR BRAIDING MACHINES Filed Nov. 9/1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOP,

' TQHRHII LEIMBH H 3y, AM/1% MULTIPLE STRAND CARRIER FOR BRAIDING MACHINES Johann Leimbach, Wuppertal-Elberfeld, Germany, as-

signor to Alfred J. chneider-Paas, Highland Mills,

The present invention relates to braiding machines and in particular to a multiple strand carrier for such amachme, these machines braiding wire strands into tubular coverings for high pressure hose and the like, for example This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 393,124, filed November 19, 1953, and now abandoned.

With known braiding machines it is virtually impossible to maintain a uniform tension in all strands. The reason for this is that with these known machines it is impossible to regulate the tension in one strand independently of the tension in the other strands. Thus, a change in the tension of one strand results in a change in the tension of the other strands and it is inevitable that the tubular covering formed by these known machines has undesirable bulges and the like.

One of the objects of the present invention is to overcome the above drawbacks by providing a multiple strand carrier which is capable of regulating the tension in any one strand independently of the tension in all other strands.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an exceedingly simple and compact mounting for a plurality of strand reels carried by the multiple strand carrier.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple and efficient means for guiding strands from the carrier.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for automatically maintaining a uniform tension in the several strands.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a simple and ruggedly constructed, inexpensive structure capable of accomplishing the above objects.

With the above objects in view, the present invention mainly consists of a multiple strand carrier for a braiding machine, this carrier including a frame and a shaft carried by the frame. A plurality of strand reels are arranged adjacent each other on the shaft for free rotation thereon independently of each other. A guide means is carried by the frame for guiding the strands from the reels, and a tensioning means is operatively connected to each reel for controlling the tension in the strands carried thereby independently of the tension in the strands of the other reels.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a multiple strand carrier constructed in accordance with the present invention, part of the structure of Fig. 1 being shown in section to illustrate more clearly the details of the carrier of the invention;

Patented Apr. 22, 1958 Fig. 2 is a sectional, side elevational view of the strand carrier of Fig. 1 taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. l in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken along the line III-III of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that the multiple strand carrier of the invention includes an upright frame having a base portion provided at an upperpart thereof with a horizontal bridge 9. A pair of standards 11 are fixed to and extend upwardly from the bridge 9 and carry a second bridge 8 over the bridge 9. A third bridge 19 is carried by the standards 11 adjacent the top ends thereof, the bridge 19 being horizontal and located over the bridge 8. The bridges 8 and 19 may be mounted in any suitable way on the standards 11, and in the particular example shown, thebridge 8 rests on shoulders of standards 11 and is held against the shoulders by a pair of .nuts threadedly engaging the standards, while the bridge 19 rests on a pair of collars fixed to the standards 11 and is held against these collars also by a pair of nuts threadedly engaging the standards, bridges 8 and 19 being formed at their opposite ends with openings through which the standards respectively extend. The standards themselves may have bottom threaded end portions extending into threaded engage-- ment with the inner threaded surfaces of tubular sleeves fixed to and extending upwardly from the bridge 9 (Figs. 1 and 3).

As is apparent from the drawings, the bridge 9 forms the top wall of the rectangular base of the frame, and the side walls of this base carry the opposite ends of a shaft 4 extending horizontally between these side walls. A plurality of strand reels 5 are arranged beside each other on the shaft 4 between the side walls of the base for free rotation on the shaft 4. It will be noted, from Fig. 1 in particular, that there is absolutely no connection between the several strand reels 5, five of which are shown in particular example of the drawings, so that these strand reels are free to turn independently of each other. Itis emphasized that the turning of one strand reel 5 on the shaft 4 has absolutely no influence on any of the other strand reels. A ratchet wheel 6 is fixed to the left face of each reel 5, as viewed in Fig. l, by a rivet or the like, for example, as shown at the left strand reel and ratchet wheel of Fig. 1. 1

As is most clearly evident from Fig. 2, the bridges 8 and 9 are formed with aligned bores through which detent rods 7 slidably extend, these detent rods thusfixed thereto beneath and adjacent the bridge 8, and a coil spring 10 is located about each rod 7 between and against bridge 8 and collar 7a thereof, so that the coil springs 10 urge the detent rods 7 downwardly into engagement with the ratchet wheels 6, respectively.

A plurality of elongated tubes 12 are respectively carried by and extend between the bridges 8 and-9. These tubes 12 are respectively parallel to and slightly staggered with respect to the detent rods *7, as isparticularly apparent from Figs. 1 and 3.

ing slot 12a (Fig. 2).

A plurality of release members 15" are provided with tubular portions 13 through which the tubes 12 respec-.

tively extend so that the release members 15 are slidaole along the tubes 12, and each tubular portion 13 is pro vided wither! inner projection 13a (Fig. 2) extending through slot 12a into the interior of the tube 12-. ,A plu- Each tube 12 is formed at its rear side with an elongated axially extendadapted to engage a shut-off switchtnot shown) for I automatically terminating the operation of the machine when any of the release members moves downwardly beyond a predetermined elevation. In addition," the release members 15 are provided with plate portions extending axially along and forwardly from the tubular portions 13, respectively, and provided at their forward ends with elongated curved endportions 155, respectively, in the form of fingers respectivelypassing partly about and located next to the detent rods 7, respectively, so that during movement of the release members 15 along tubes 12 the. fingers 1512 will move along the detent rods 7,

respectively. Finally, each release member 15 carries on its plate portion a pulley 15a which is freely rotatable.

The above-described ratchet wheel 6, detent rods 7, tubular members 12, release members 15, and the parts associated therewith form a tensioning means for independently maintaining a substantially uniform tension in the several strands carried by the reels 5, aswill be described below. In addition, the structure of the invention includes a guide means for guiding the'strands from the reels 5 to the tensioning means and from the tensioning means away from the carrier to the point where the braiding operations take place.

This guide means includes a plurality of pulleys respectively carried for free rotation by the forward portion of bridge 8 respectively over the reels 5. For example, the bridge 3 maybe provided with a plurality of forwardly extending cars which carry a-horizontal shaft, and the pulleys 25 are rotatable on this shaft and respectively located between the ears projecting forwardly from bridge 8. The bridge 8 in addition has fixed to a rear portion of its top face an angle bar 16 having-pins fixed to and extending forwardly from its front face. Four of these pins are provided in the particular example illustrated, and each pin carries a pulley 17' for free rotation. The bridge 8 is bored beneath each pulley 17 and between the central pair of pulleys 17, and the several strands respectively pass upwardly throughthese bores in a manner described below.

The guide means further includes at the bridge 19 a sleeve 13 which is fixed to and extends through a bore of the bridge 19, as is most clearly shown in Fig. l. A thrust bearing 20, which may be of the ball or roller type, is located about sleeve 18 against the top face of bridge 19, and a plate 21, formed with a bore through which sleeve 18 extends, is carried by the top race of bearing 20 for free turning movement about the axis of sleeve 18. A pair of angular side plates 22 are fixed to and extend upwardly and forwardly from the plate 21, in the manner shown most clearly in Fig. 2. A shaft is carried by and extends between the plates 22, and this in Fig. l to be guided thereby to the sleeve 18, while shaft carries a multiple groove policy 23, this pulley having in the particular example shown five annular grooves for respectively receiving the strandscarried -by the five reels 5. An additional plate is fixed to and extends between the top ends of plates 22, and thisaddi- I tional plate carries an eye 24 through which the strandsare guided from the pulley 23 to the point where the comprising, in combination, a frame; a shaft carried by the central strand passes directly through the central bore of bridge 8 to the sleeve 18. The several strands pass together through the sleeve 18 respectively to the grooves of pulley 23 and from the latter through the eye 24. It will be noted that the thrust bearing 2% permits the frame 21, 22 carrying pulley 23 to automatically align itself to the braiding operations.

With the parts in the position shown in the drawings, the detent rods 7 will engage the ratchet wheels 6', respectively, to restrain the reels 5 against rotation and as a consequence during movement of the strands through the eye 24 the release members 15 are constantly raised to compress springs 14. This operation continues until the fingers 3.5 engage the collars 7a, respectively. It will be noted that there is nothing compelling fingers 15b to engage collars 7a simultaneously or in any predetermined sequence. Each release member operates independently of all other release members, and thus the tension in each strand is maintained independently of the tension in every other strand. Upon engagement of any finger 15b with a collar 7a, continued upward movement of the release member raises the detent rod '7 against the action of spring it to release the ratchet wheel 6 and reel 5 fixed thereto. Thus, there is a sudden issue of the strand from the reel 5 which allows the spring 14 to expand and move the release member 15 downwardly, so that the spring 10 is then also free to move the detent rod 7 back into engagement with ratchet wheel 6 to prevent further turning of reel 5. This operation is the same for each of the several assemblies associated with each reel.

If for some reason, such as the breakage of a strand, the release member 15 moves downwardly beyond a predetermined elevation, the projection 26 will automatically stop the operation of the machine, in the manner described above.

It will be noted that with the above-described structure a substantially uniform tension is maintained in each strand independently of the tension in any other strand, and particular attention is invited to the fact that the free rotation of the reels 5 independently of each other prevents the turning movement of any one reel from influencing the tension of the strands of the adjacent reels.

Of course, it is possible to arrange shaft 4 vertically instead of horizontally and to guide the strands over pulleys similar to pulleys 17. Furthermore, the particular ratchet mechanism shown is not essential since other analogous devices, such as eccentric ball brakes, may be used, if desired.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of braiding machines difiering. from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in multiple strand carrier for braiding machines, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Withouh further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can byapplying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What. is claimed as new and desired to be secured by'Letters Patent is:

1; A.multiple strand .carrier for .a braiding machine,

said frame; a plurality of strand reels arranged adjacent to each other on said shaft for free rotation thereon independently of each other; guide means carried by said frame for guiding strands from said reels; a plurality of ratchet Wheels respectively fixed to said reels for rotation therewith; a plurality of detents carried by said frame for movement into and out of engagement with said ratchet wheels, respectively, to prevent rotation of said reels when said detents engage said ratchet wheels; a plurality of pulleys for respectively guiding strands carried by said reels from one part to another part of said guide means; elongated tubes carried by said frame and respectively formed with slots extending along their length, mounting means mounting said pulleys for free rotation and being slidably carried by said tubes, said mounting means having projections respectively extending through said slots of said tubes into the interior thereof; spring means in said tubes respectively engaging said projections of said mounting means for urging the latter in a direction tensioning the strands, said mounting means moving in an opposite direction along said tube during movement of the strands away from the carrier while the reels remain stationary; and release means connected to said mounting means and detents for independently moving the latter from said ratchet wheels to release said reels independently whenever the pulleys move in said opposite direction to a predetermined part of said frame.

2. A multiple strand carrier for a braiding machine, comprising, in combination, a frame; a shaft carried by said frame; a plurality of strand reels arranged adjacent to each other on said shaft for free rotation thereon independently of each other; tensioning means operatively connected to each reel for controlling the tension in the strand carried thereby independently of the tension in the strands of the other reels; a tubular sleeve carried by said frame for guiding all of the strands through the sleeve after the strands leave the tensioning means; a support mounted on said sleeve at the exterior thereof for free turning movement about the axis thereof; and a multiple groove pulley carried by said support for free rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of said sleeve, said multiple groove pulley being adapted to receive the strands in the grooves thereof, respectively, for guiding the strands from the sleeve away from the frame.

3. A multiple strand carrier for a braiding machine, comprising, in combination, a frame; a substantially horizontal shaft carried by said frame at a lower portion thereof; a plurality of reels arranged beside each other on said shaft for free rotation thereon independently of each other; a plurality of ratchet wheels respectively fixed to said reels for rotation therewith; a plurality of substantially vertical detent rods respectively located over said ratchet wheels and being mounted on said frame for movement downwardly toward and upwardly away from a position where the bottom ends of said detent rods respectively engage said ratchet wheels to restrain 6 said reels against rotation; first spring means engaging said rods for urging the latter downwardly to said position thereof; a plurality of tubes carried by said frame at substantially the same elevation as said detent rods, said tubes being respectively located adjacent and parallel to said rods and each being formed with an elongated bers for urging the latter downwardly; a plurality of pulleys respectively carried by said release members for free rotation thereon; a plurality of collars respectively fixed to said detent rods over said curved end portions of said release members; and guide means carried by said frame for guiding strands from said reels downwardly to said pulleys and upwardly from the latter away from said frame, whereby during movement of said strands away from said frame while said reels are restrained against turning by said detent rods and ratchet wheels, said release members move upwardly to engage said collars and raise said detent rods independently of each other to momentarily release said reels so that a substantially constant predetermined tension is maintained in each strand independently of the tension in every other strand.

4. A multiple strand carrier for a braiding machine as defined in claim 3, said guide means comprising a multiple-grooved pulley turnably carried by said frame at an upper portion thereof for respectively'receiving the strands in the grooves of said multiple-grooved pulley, and an eye carried by said frame and through which all of the strands are adapted to pass independently to the braiding point.

5. A multiple strand carrier for a braiding machine as defined in claim 3, said guide means comprising a sleeve carried by said fame at an upper portion thereof and through which all of the strands moving upwardly from said pulleys are adapted to pass, a multiple-grooved pulley turnably carried by saidframe for receiving the strands from said sleeve respectively in the grooves of said multiple-grooved pulley, and an eye carried by said frame at said upper portion thereof and through which the strands all pass independently from said multiplegrooved pulley.

References Cited in the file of this patent vUNITED STATES PATENTS Scott et a1. Oct. 27, 

